Kevin O'Leary Applauds WonderFi Acquisition Of Crypto Marketplace Bitbuy For $206M

WonderFi Technologies Inc WNDR announced that it will acquire First Ledger Corporation, the parent of Bitbuy Technologies, the first approved crypto market in Canada.

The acquisition and subsequent integration, will establish WonderFi as the leading end-to-end consumer platform for those seeking exposure to crypto and an emerging finance model (DeFi) that replicates market-making, borrowing, lending, and exchanging without middlemen.

Context: Cryptocurrency exposed the masses and regulators to the potential of decentralized finance to resolve a variety of social issues that flow into finance.

“The current financial system doesn't provide equal opportunities for people, whether it's people from lower socioeconomic rungs, women, or visible minorities,” WonderFi co-founder and CEO Ben Samaroo once explained to Benzinga.

“It's all rooted in how the financial system is opaque and tightly controlled,” he said.

With WonderFi’s curated app experience, users can buy assets, earn interest, and get broad exposure to the space via index-type products.

Development: WonderFi’s acquisition and integration of Bitbuy, including its employees, multiple lines of business, and over $440 million of assets under custody. The acquisition comes as the firm looks to democratize finance through easy and secure access to DeFi and crypto.

“A licensed marketplace serves as a crucial gateway to the digital asset economy, and facilitates a robust end-to-end, unified client experience,” Samaroo said.

“The integration of Bitbuy’s product suite will accelerate and expand the reach and scope that WonderFi can offer to the market, and will drive long-term growth and value for the Company,” he noted.

The aggregate transaction value of the deal sits at $206 million and comprises 70 million in newly issued common shares of WonderFi, $20 million in upfront cash, and $30 million in deferred cash via a vendor-takeback note.

Why It Matters: Bitbuy, which was founded in 2016, is the first approved crypto marketplace in Canada, and has grown into a leading platform in North America, as ranked by Deloitte.

Kevin O’Leary, who is an ambassador and strategic advisor to WonderFi said that “this is a combination of two management teams with excellent executional skills that now have the bandwidth, assets and licenses to provide an institutional-grade compliant crypto platform to investors interested in exposure to centralized and decentralized financial services.”

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Photo: Courtesy of Woderfi